Most of Washington was focused on last Thursday’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, where former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) James Comey testified about circumstances that may have contributed to his termination. President Trump announced on Wednesday that he was nominating Christopher Wray to serve as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations … Continue Reading

President Donald Trump spoke by phone on Thursday with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, and Prime Minister Theresa May of the United Kingdom, where he explained his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord on Thursday. He further reassured the … Continue Reading

President Donald Trump welcomed Argentine President Mauricio Macri to the White House last Thursday. In a joint statement, the two leaders committed to expanding bilateral trade and investments; strengthening cooperation to counter narco-trafficking, terrorist financing, money laundering, corruption and other illicit finance activities; and increasing cooperation on cyber policy. President Trump will welcome Palestinian President … Continue Reading

Congress returns to Washington today after a two week recess. Both chambers must quickly pass legislation to fund the Federal Government through the end of FY 2017, before existing authority expires on 28 April. President Donald Trump signed a number of orders last week related to trade and financial services. He signed an Executive Order on … Continue Reading

President Donald Trump will welcome Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and King Abdullah II of Jordan to the White House this week. He is expected to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping to Mar-a-Lago later in the week. President Trump met last Thursday with Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. According to the White House, the two … Continue Reading

President Donald Trump focused last week on the Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Healthcare Act, also known as Obamacare. After the House of Representatives failed to advance the American Health Care Act (AHCA), President Trump indicated a next priority for the administration is tax reform. On Wednesday, President Trump called Prime Minister Theresa … Continue Reading

President Donald Trump met with Taoiseach Enda Kenny of Ireland last Thursday to discuss United States-Ireland economic and cultural ties as part of the White House’s annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration. President Trump welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House on Friday, where the President commended Germany’s contributions to the fight against ISIS. … Continue Reading

President Donald Trump is preparing to release another immigration-related Executive Order (E.O.) that is expected to refine a previous directive that banned Syrian refugees from entering the United States and suspended the issuance of visas and admission into the United States for foreign nationals from seven countries of “particular concern.” The President will address a … Continue Reading

Last Wednesday, the U.S. Senate approved Mr. Rex Tillerson to serve as the next Secretary of State. On his first day as Secretary of State, he met with German Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel. Secretary Tillerson also spoke by phone with Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, … Continue Reading

The U.S. Congress is in session this week; the Senate is expected to vote on Mr. Rex Tillerson’s nomination to be Secretary of State. Nikki Haley was sworn in last week to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Gen. James Mattis was also sworn in as the next U.S. Secretary of Defense. Last … Continue Reading

Congress reconvened last Monday to work on advancing several priority measures – such as an Omnibus spending measure to fund the federal government, a tax extenders package, and the customs bill, among others – in anticipation of adjourning later this week for the year. San Bernardino Shooting The Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to investigate … Continue Reading

Legislative Activity Immigration Provision Removed from House Defense Bill On Friday, the House passed H.R. 1735, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2016, by a vote of 269 in favor and 151 against. During floor debate, the chamber narrowly approved an amendment proposed by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) stripping language from H.R. 1735 that would … Continue Reading

Last Tuesday, Republicans secured control of the U.S. Senate – 52 seats, with some races yet-to-be-determined and could result in further gains. Squire Patton Boggs produced a 2014 Mid-Term Congressional Elections Analysis, which summarizes some of the implications of a Republican-controlled 114th Congress on the Obama Administration’s international and domestic policies. This Wednesday, 12 November, … Continue Reading

Iraq/Syria Crises On the eve of the 9/11 anniversary, President Barack Obama addressed the nation and outlined his Administration’s four-part strategy (fact sheet available here) to combat the Islamic State (ISIL/ISIS). First, the President said U.S. airstrikes have shifted from protecting U.S. nationals and humanitarian missions to attacking ISIL targets “as Iraqi forces go on the … Continue Reading